Immunisation Weekly Update:

Welcome to our weekly Immunisation Update. In this week’s update, read about:

• Giving MenB with Other Vaccines? Australian Evidence Supports the Approach
• Empowering immunisation conversations
• A spotlight on whooping cough
• Feedback
• Education

Giving MenB with Other Vaccines? Australian Evidence Supports the Approach

A recent Australian study published in The Medical Journal of Australia found that separating meningococcal B (MenB) and National Immunisation Program (NIP) vaccines across multiple visits does not reduce the likelihood of side effects. In some cases, infants who received vaccines on separate days were more likely to experience an adverse event because they had multiple opportunities to experience post-vaccination reactions.

At 2 months of age, adverse event rates were lower when MenB and routine vaccines were administered together (29%) compared with separate visits (35%). At 4, 6 and 12 months, adverse event rates were similar or slightly lower when vaccines were co-administered.

Make every vaccination visit count

For patients who are eligible for MenB and other scheduled vaccines, consider administering them at the same appointment unless there is a clinical contraindication.

• The MenB vaccine, Bexsero®, can be safely co-administered with other routine vaccines at any age
• For children under 2 years, prophylactic paracetamol is recommended when Bexsero® is given with other routine vaccines due to the increased risk of fever. This is not a contraindication.

Co-administration helps provide timely protection, reduces missed opportunities and minimizes the number of healthcare visits required. By offering all recommended vaccines at the same visit, you can help maximise vaccine coverage and ensure patients are protected as early as possible.

Empowering immunisation conversations

Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation (SKAI), led by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS), provides evidence-based resources to support healthcare providers in discussing vaccination with patients and families.

SKAI offers a wide range of resources, conversation guides and eLearning modules covering pregnancy and newborn immunisation, childhood vaccination, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, adolescent immunisation, and adult vaccination.

Explore the full range of healthcare professional resources on the Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation.

A spotlight on whooping cough

With Whooping Cough Day on 8 November, now is a timely reminder to check patient’s pertussis vaccination status. Whooping cough continues to circulate in Australia with more than 8,000 cases notified so fare in 2026, including a substantial number in adults and older Australians.

Pertussis vaccine is available in combination with diphtheria and tetanus and is funded for:

• Routine vaccination in infants, children and adolescents
• Routine booster vaccination in adults and those in special risk groups or in contact with special risk groups (including pregnant or breastfeeding women, healthcare workers, earlier childhood educators and people in contact with infants)
• People who have missed doses of pertussis-containing vaccine

To read more information on the pertussis vaccine, view the Australian Immunisation Handbook. For whooping cough day resources, visit the  Immunisation Foundation of Australia.

Feedback

We’d love your feedback on our pharmacist video explainer series. Please take 2 minutes to complete our short survey and tell us what you found useful, what could be improved, and what topics you’d like to see covered in future episodes. Your feedback will help shape future educational resources for pharmacists.

Education